The Precursor Age
by SonJak
Summary: A story about the Precursors living on Jak's planet, and how they were almost wiped out by the Metal Heads.


**'Darko Eco Blues'**

"What is dark eco?"

"Light eco is the essence of the universe, made physical by grand machines. It's separate colours represent the four basic things necessary for existence to exist."

"What is dark eco?"

"The first of the colours being green. This eco flows through all life. It is what first gave life, perhaps even the universe, spark. It is what makes cells divide, and what gives them purpose in the first place. And on a larger scale, it is why we have consciousness."

"What is dark eco?"

"The second is red eco. Which exists in between all atoms. It is what drives forces, gravity, magnetism, it controls all causality. So, in a way, it is almost green eco's opposite, whereas green drives the conscious, red drives the unconscious."

"What is dark eco?"

"Blue eco, I think, is the most interesting of all ecos. It dictates how certain energy behaves, and acts as a wave. It can speed up a person's movements by making their molecules vibrate at an incredible rate. This is also how it powers machinery, it is drawn to energy sensitive buffers in mechanisms, which vibrate, and act as generaters to what is is powering."

"What is dark eco?"

"The last is yellow. This eco is also very interesting, in it's most general sense it is energy. Although it deals more with energy that mainly physically affects us. Whereas blue causes electricity and kinetic energy, yellow causes heat and visible light. This is why it resembles fire so much."

"What is dark eco?" This was the question on everybody's mind. The question nobody knew the answer to. And It was also the question nobody was willing to face directly. You could have any type of eco-physicist talk for hours if you asked about any eco in the white spectrum. But ask about dark eco, before your tongue could even fall into the K sound, you would already be faced with a hand, graciously pointing out the door.

You could argue that they had every right to be afraid. Of dark eco. But of questions… it was pathetic.

I had recently gotten my degree in eco-chemistry, or my 'green doctorate' as it was colloquially known, and during my third and final semesters, I had been shown my fair share of doors. It was bad enough having the study of dark eco taboo for Cosmos knows how long… but now having the very mention of it be taboo, it was almost too much to handle.

All because a Dark Maker satellite had been spotted two solar systems away just under two years prior. Not that the length of time that had elapsed made any difference, from day one people acted in such a manor.

Anyway, there I stood, facing my boss, lead scientist, and self-professed expert, of light eco, looking like he had just been told his wife had died, waiting for an answer to my question.

"What _is _dark eco?" I repeated, with unintentional impatience in my voice.

"You should not ask questions like that… you're in danger of offending certain faculty members with such impertinence," he said, and tilted his head downwards towards his desk.

I knew who he was referring to. A blue-physicist in the western part of the university where I worked, named Sorg. His brother had actually decided to become a Dark Maker many decades back, when he was captured by them whilst serving in the military.

"But Professor, perhaps if we resumed the study of the purple spectrum-"

"Stop it!" The Professor said in an aggravated tone, looking up from his desk. "Do not refer to garbage in such official terms! You were almost kicked out of this very university for asking that question, do not think anything has changed just because you work here now."

I left without saying another word. The Professor was quite short, with greying brownish fur, and although this physical demeanour was not the most threatening, I never felt comfortable continuing a conversation with him once he was annoyed.

I suppose this was due mainly to the father figure like role he had come to play in my life, because of how long I had studied, and continued to work, under him, and also because of the general detachment I felt towards my actual family, my parents in particular.

Regardless of that, I told myself as I walked across town towards where I lived, I was still going to study dark eco, even if it had to be in secret. I had already thought of the first experiment I was going to conduct as I stepped into my house.

It was already common knowledge that green eco could reverse the effects of dark eco. But, I wondered, what effect would dark and blue eco have on each other…?


End file.
